


miracle hotline

by ghostybreads



Category: Original Work
Genre: Again it wont make much sense if you don't know who they are, Angel!Shinobu, Angel/Demon AU, Fallen Angel!Ikue, Lowkey based off the mechanics of good omens but also not really, M/M, Me and Shuu's BNHA OC's, also there will be more i swear (probably), but i need validation okay, but like AU version so not the canon they were made in, no quirks, the chapter is short i know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24604810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostybreads/pseuds/ghostybreads
Summary: To long for a trust and honesty you can't return. Invisible white wings beat to a tune no human could ever hear. Shinobu Kouji was an angel, and Shinobu Kouji was determined to keep this from his friend. Honda Ikue was a fallen angel, and Honda Ikue was determined to figure out if Shinobu was an angel, or whether he was just losing his mind.
Relationships: Shinobu Kouji/Honda Ikue
Kudos: 5





	1. see you tomorrow

"Your total is 600 yen…"

"What? I can't hear you!"

"Uhm, 600 yen please, ma'am."

Shinobu Kouji was an angel working a full-time job and absolutely hating every second. He put the numbers through the café register, eyes burning holes through the clock on the wall as if it would make time go any faster. His face remained unchanging as he repeated the total another time, with an effort to be clearer, but he swore if she still hadn't heard him he was going to miracle himself out the nearest window. He really… didn't know how to deal with humans, still. (Or that was his excuse, anyway. Truthfully he had the same problems conversing with other angels). 

He didn't always hate his job. The manager and his co-workers were usually understanding of his, well, social predicament, given that he never complained about putting in extra effort elsewhere. But today they were short-staffed, so he wasn't lucky enough to soley work as a barista. Shinobu sighed as the customer walked away, tucking the money into the register and closing his eyes for a moment to rest them. 

The chime of the bell hanging above the door lightly echoed through the small café, and he forced his eyes open again. Ugh. He looked up to see a mother, (was it just him, or did she look a little young?) holding a young baby in her arms that slept easily without making a sound. She looked desperately tired, and he could only assume what the babies silence now had meant for her night. 

"Excuse me, but how much is just a regular coffee…?"

"300 yen." 

The mother adjusted the babies position, and brought out her purse from her back pocket, rifling through the change she had. It didn't look like a lot. She clenched it in her fist, looking away from it. 

"… How much is a small?"

Shinobu looked around for a moment. The only person in the near vicinity would be one of his co-workers, Ikue Honda, who just returned from serving a couple their drinks… No, he wouldn't notice anything. There was a moment of concentration, he quietly clicked his fingers under the counter. You didn't necessarily need to, but it helped him focus the power. 

"200 yen." 

The woman nodded, sighing and taking out her purse dejectedly, as if giving up. She went to take out the money, before pausing, as if frozen. 

"No I swear I didn't…" The tired look on her face lifted slightly. "I'll take a large flat-white, actually!" She slid across the money, putting her purse in her back pocket, and holding the baby a little tighter, grateful to something she couldn't name. In hindsight, that was probably bad for the economy. Oh well. Not really his problem now.

"Uhm, one large flat-white," he quietly said to Honda, looking over at him to make sure he heard. Was he looking at him strangely…? He hadn't done anything weird, right? Yeah, he was probably overthinking it. The chime went again, and he tried to keep his groan to himself as he walked back to the counter until seeing who it was. Their other two co-workers walked in, one walking around the counter and the other hopping across it. 

"We're here to free you guys!" Hoshino, the one who had hopped across the counter, said with a grin. She was easily the one who broke the most rules, and still simultaneously one of their best workers. Her natural (well, Hoshino had told him a part of it was strategically planned) charm brought in a lot of return customers. She took a hair tie off her wrist and tied up her long hair above her head. For some reason, she'd took a liking to Honda. 

"Lemme just get changed into the uniform, I'm sure you can handle five more minutes," she grinned, trying to ruffle Honda's hair, who stepped out of the way. 

"You're already late, hurry up." He berated, while she stuck her tongue out at him through a mischievous smile. There was really very little ways to deal with her. Amedzutsumi apologised for both of their lateness, and he reassured her it was fine. They were both younger and only working part-time, so he didn't end up seeing Hoshino that often, but his schedule aligned with Amedzutsumi's quite a lot. She seemed to be working there to make some money while undergoing police training. He liked her, in a friendly co-worker way. Her enthusiasm reminded him of what he loved about humans, even when he struggled to understand them. 

He stared boredly back toward the door, resting his elbows against the counter and putting his chin on the back of his hands. Shinobu could vaguely still pick up the feeling of being watched, uncomfortably shifting. 

"Shinobu-san, how are you getting home?" Honda asked him from behind, stepping up to stand next to him. 

"Hm? Ah, train, I think." Though it'd be easier if he could fly home. If there was one thing he missed, it was flying. Really flying, not just hovering above the ground in his apartment to stretch his wings, knocking everything he owned over in the process. 

"Me too. Let's walk there together." 

Shinobu blinked once, but nodded, watching as Honda exited out into the staff area to change and pack his stuff. He waited a moment more, thinking, before following after him. Hoshino and Amedzutsumi weren't much longer, coming out in their uniforms. 

It didn't take him long to grab his small bag of items and change. He looked around at Honda, who he found looking back at him. Honda looked away in that moment, taking his own things and leaving. Seriously, what was up with that? He must've done or said something weird, but what was it? Humans. 

"Bye bye guys!" Hoshino waved them goodbye at the door, winking obviously toward Honda. "Good luck, protect yourselves!"

Shinobu opened his mouth to question it, but Honda had stormed out too quickly, and all he managed to do was bow and go after him. It was awkward, but he supposed it would be more awkward if they left for the same place at the same time but not officially together. 

"So, I've come to understand I don't know you very well, despite working together for quite some time." Honda began, his formal way of speaking was almost intimidating. He was probably right though. Shinobu never offered up much about his personal life. He wasn't trying to be mysterious, there just wasn't much to tell, other than the one thing he couldn't say. 

"Uhm, yeah, that's true." He put a hand to the back of his neck, sinking into it slightly and trying to make himself appear smaller. 

"The natural conclusion is to change that, is it not?" Honda shot him a small smile, and it relaxed him enough to give a smaller one back. He'd have to be careful, having a human friend was dangerous in more ways than one. No. He was jumping to conclusions, assuming Honda even intended to become friends, or anything beyond co-workers who know the basics about each other. Not waiting for his response, or maybe understanding that he struggled with how to answer, Honda continued- "What about your family? What are they like? You never mention them."

Humans. 

He looked to the ground, thinking of how to respond. "Uhm, they're… not really in the picture. It's a long story, sorry. I have a cat, though?" That was good enough, wasn't it? Plenty of humans didn't have a family, or didn’t acknowledge them. 

"I see… I apologise, it was insensitive of me to assume."

"Ah, no, it's okay." Shinobu waved a hand to brush his apology aside. He hadn't meant to make him feel bad… How could he change the subject? Was it bad that he didn't want to hurt him? No, well, he was an angel after all. That was part of the job description. Rather, was it bad he wanted to get to know Honda too? "What about yours?" 

"It's just my mother and I. She's very kind, and I admire her strength. I wasn't raised here though, so she lives quite far away in another prefect." 

Shinobu nodded. That made… sense? Probably. Not that Honda was lying, but he should probably keep that in mind for the next time he was asked about his upbringing or family. They continued to walk down the street under the late afternoon sun, coating the road in a soft golden. It wasn't very busy, with practically no cars and only a few other people walking around.

Still, that was no excuse. 

A small ginger cat approached Shinobu as they came to a striped crosswalk, only a few streets away from the station. He slowed to walk behind Honda, stopping and crouching on the ground to scratch behind its ears. What could he say? He liked cats. The car purred. Shinobu looked up in time to see Honda stopped in the middle of the road for only a moment, looking back to see where he had gone. Their eyes met for only a moment. 

A truck sped around the corner so quickly there was no time to react. Shinobu leapt up, reaching out. It was as if time had slowed down, the golden light reflecting in Honda's eyes quickly melted into a split second of fear. In the time it took for him to inhale a deathly cold breath, the truck had come to a screeching halt just centimetres away from where Honda had fallen back on the ground. His palm felt warm. 

… Shinobu's knees felt weak, he let out a sigh of relief. He really shouldn't get so involved in human affairs, life and death wasn't his territory. The higher ups were going to kill him for this. Still, Honda may have never been in that situation were it not for him, so, technically, he did the right thing. Quickly, he opened up the door of the truck and stepped up onto the ledge (shouldn't it be locked? There was probably multiple laws being broken here. That one wasn't even on him.), feeling for a pulse from the driver's wrist.

The air bag had gone off in time, thank god. He would live. Modern technology was truly something else. In that time, a girl walking her dog nearby had called an ambulance for the driver. They shouldn't move him, for now, in case of head injuries that he couldn't see. Shinobu then went to check on Honda, who hadn't moved from his position.

"Are you okay?" Shinobu asked with concern, crouching beside him, his own guilt building up as Honda looked back at him. He looked away, focusing on the white lines painted over the gravelly road. "Sorry… I stopped and…" 

"I'm perfectly fine, there is no need for you to worry or apologise." Honda let out a sigh of his own, standing up and dusting off his pants. "I'm… very lucky it stopped where it did." He further commented after a moment, staring at the front of the truck that was still in reach. 

"Ah, yeah, definitely…" Shinobu bit his lip, standing up, but still not moving his gaze away from the floor. Well, that was a positive start to their friendship. "Sorry. Again."

"I already said there is no apology needed, did I not? There is nothing to forgive." Honda stepped away from the truck, moving out of the way and still watching Shinobu. He leaned against the railing separating the sidewalk and the road. That was… an unnaturally quick time to get over a near-death experience. How did Honda look more put together than Shinobu, who wasn't in any actual danger? Humans were terrifying. "You do that quite a lot. Apologising for things that you are not at fault for." 

"Sor- …Yeah." Shinobu followed him out of the way, looking back momentarily to the truck. "I'm uh, not good at this stuff, I guess. I don't really know what else to say." He idly scuffed his shoes against the ground. It was embarrassing to admit for a human who was supposed to be 25, and even more embarrassing for an angel who was much older than that. "But ah, really, are you sure you're okay?" 

Honda looked down at himself for a moment, as if assessing his condition. He held up his hand, before turning it around to show Shinobu. There was a light red graze on his palm from the concrete. "That is the extent of my injuries. It is only a light sting, I assure you." 

Shinobu wished he could heal it. Honda even said himself it wasn't a big deal, but he couldn't help the intrinsic urge to help, to fix what he felt he was to blame for. But that was far too obvious, even for him. If he was going to decide he'd allow himself to have friends, he had to be more careful. Shinobu couldn't let Honda find out. (Even then, that was kind of selfish, wasn't it?) 

To long for a trust and honesty you can't return. Invisible white wings beat to a tune no human could ever hear. 

They waited a little more for the ambulance to come, accompanied by a tow truck. After the driver had been taken out and put onto a stretcher, a nurse approached the two and asked them a few questions about how it occurred. After taking their answers, she bowed. 

"Thank you for your time, you may go home. The driver has sustained no major injuries, and should be alright to be discharged in no time. It's practically a miracle that everyone made it out safe." 

Shinobu sweat nervously. 

"It truly is. Thank you for your service." Honda politely bowed back to her, and Shinobu awkwardly did the same. She smiled, and said good-bye before moving back toward the others transporting the driver into the ambulance.

"Let's uh, go to the train station then," he said, moving on from her comment and starting down the street again with Honda walking beside him in agreement. The sun had almost disappeared from sight, and the conversation had lulled into a comfortable silence with only the sound of shoes tapping against the dingy platform floors. 

With a squeal, a train rushed through the tunnel and ran along the station, the lights from inside the carriages making a mirage of flashing images. Honda stepped toward it, looking back toward Shinobu as the doors opened. 

"I'll see you tomorrow," Shinobu awkwardly raised a hand to say goodbye. 

"Thanks." 

"Huh?" 

"Nothing. I'll see you then." 

Honda smiled politely, stepping onto the train. The doors closed and only a moment later the train was gone, leaving Shinobu alone and staring at the wall where Honda had been. What was that about?


	2. the five times ikue honda found his secret

Shinobu had thought he'd been smart about it. Shinobu was wrong. 

Honda, as a friend, was not particularly bad. He asked a lot of odd questions, and sometimes he could feel a calculating gaze boring into the back of his head- but Shinobu didn't really know enough about friendships to condemn it. Honda always seemed to take the initiative, too, which he appreciated. The nuances of when it was alright to change a person's honorific, or the implications behind inviting someone over to your house, were all completely lost on him. He wasn't quite shameless enough to buy a 'humans for dummies' book, but he was very much getting there. 

Regardless, Honda was a good friend. That was not in question. Only, Shinobu hadn't pegged him to be so… Lucky? Unlucky? What would you call it, when your new friend somehow finds out your deepest secret four times in a row?

Perhaps the miracle of erasing his memories wasn't completely efficient, and left him with bits and pieces of what he'd learned. Or perhaps he was just incredibly observant. Either way, it was seriously troublesome. It would be easier to distance himself, figure out excuses for spending time together until Honda got the hint. It wouldn’t be difficult with his face, forever stuck with what Hoshino had helpfully described as a 'resting bitch face'. Shinobu was tired of taking the easy way out, though. 

The first time he found out was at work. 

It was rush hour on a particularly busy day, and being understaffed certainly didn't help matters. He knew it was only a job to keep up appearances in the human world and to occasionally have spending money for Pokémon merchandise, but he ended up caring about it more than he thought. 

Honda was at the register, while he was the barista. They were orders and orders behind, and customers were starting to yell at the two of them. He could hear a baby crying at the commotion, and a mother complaining her order had been wrong. 

Shinobu knocked a cup of coffee over with his elbow while rushing to catch up. It was instinct. His mind had recognised that it was below the counter, and the customers couldn't see, and in an instant the coffee hovered mid-air, never reaching the ground. He reached down to swoop it up and slide it across the counter. 

That was close, he thought at the time, while Honda had watched the whole exchange. 

He walked over near the register to take out a pastry from the display. 

"Is it alright if we have a talk later?" Honda had calmly asked. 

"Of course." Shinobu had not-so-calmly responded, waving his hand in a circle over his face before Honda could say a word in confusion. Honda wasn't feeling well after that, so Shinobu insisted that he go home. If only to avoid the exhaustion that came from the rest of that shift, Shinobu vowed it would never happen again.

The second time was at Shinobu's house. 

This… He truthfully had no excuse. He had always seen his apartment as a place of residence, as opposed to a home, and treated it as such. It might as well have been a large set of drawers for him to stash things away and never come back to. In the case he was ever suddenly recalled, he hadn't wanted to leave anything behind that he would miss. (That was the original idea, anyway. It was a little late for that now.)

He had slightly cleaned up, but mostly left things how they usually were. It wasn't that bad, he didn't have much to make a mess with in the first place other than a few textbooks and documents for the university class he was attending outside of his work hours. Still, he'd somehow missed a large white feather on the couch. It was too big to fit the standard of any normal bird, and stood out against the couch. By the time he noticed, it was too late, and Honda had picked it up. 

"I… actually have a bird she's just at the vet-" Shit. He was gonna have to buy a bird. 

"Are you an angel?" 

"No. Definitely not." 

Shinobu snatched the feather off him as he leant over the couch, his hand quickly forming a circle a short distance from Honda's face. When Honda asked what he was doing, Shinobu said that he'd been checking if he was okay, since he spaced out for a while there. The feather was disposed of, and they decided to watch a movie. It took everything he had not to groan outwardly when the first thing that came on was a shitty, B-grade angel movie. 

The third time it happened, Shinobu had been tired. 

They were at work and on their break in the backroom. Shinobu was mostly on his phone playing a cat simulation, since there was only so much socializing he could take, especially after a long night with a project for university due the next morning. Honda seemed to understand, at least. There was some idle small talk, but he didn’t feel like anything was expected of him. 

"Oh. You mentioned you were primarily raised in Osaka, did you happen to own a cat then?" Honda asked, leaning over and catching what Shinobu was playing. 

"While I was in Osaka, no. I've looked after strays but never kept them." Shinobu answered easily. He felt Honda lean back, and he felt green eyes watching him. 

"Are you an angel?" 

He froze. 

"You said you never lived outside Tokyo before." 

A trap? He didn't have time to think about it, raising a hand to his head. Just before he wiped his memories, he mumbled a quiet apology. Honda conversation continued like normal, but Shinobu was still painfully overly alert and aware. In the end, Shinobu hardly spoke at all, excusing himself to walk to the train station on his own. 

By the fourth time, Shinobu was starting to suspect something was up.

The previous times Honda had found out, he'd been… shockingly calm for a human. Which raised the point: what normal person immediately jumped to the conclusion that white feathers and inconsistent information meant an angel? Had Shinobu misread it, and it was intended as a joke? Or even a dumb pick-up line? Though, he supposed angels had become famous in popular culture… Yeah, Shinobu had no right to comment on what was a normal response for a human. 

Still, this time wasn't entirely his fault. Probably. Once again, Honda had come over to his house after they finished their shift. It was the closest and made the most sense. It was the same time Honda had said it was alright to refer to him on a first-name basis. He wasn't totally sure why, but it was nice just to be in the same room sometimes, even if they both worked on separate things. Shinobu liked when things made sense, because so often they didn't. Honda just… made sense to him. 

Honda packed up and left as it started to get later, and Shinobu watched the door for a little longer than he should have.

He'd long heard the phrase that humans were social creatures. But there's no way that could apply to him. He grabbed the front of his loose grey shirt and pulled it over his head, chucking it in the general direction of the couch. It was a small apartment, and the living room was the only room that had enough space for him to stretch his wings. He let them stretch out of his back, moving them in a flapping motion slowly as to not knock anything over with the force. 

Click. Creak. 

"I… forgot something." Honda stood at the door, looking over his wings, because of course he did. Shinobu could barely be shocked. His wings retracted into his back as he stepped forward and raised his hand in the same motion, once again, erasing his memories. Once again, toying with a precious part of the human mind. This had to stop. 

"You forgot something, right?" Shinobu stepped aside to let him in. Honda apologised for assumedly walking in on him changing. 

How much longer could a friendship like this last, anyway?

Which left him in the position he was now, stacking the chairs upside down on the tables while Honda cleaned the display window to prepare for closing in total, complete silence. It'd been a few days since the last incident, and he struggled to make any eye contact with Honda at all. That wasn't uncommon for him, but avoiding talking to him certainly was. Shinobu was abusing his miracles, and he knew it. Whatever consequence that had on him he'd been prepared to deal with from the first time he came to earth, from the first time he knew that he just couldn't help doing what he thought was right. This wasn't what he thought was right. This wasn't what he swore he'd use his miracles for. 

He'd been prepared to suffer the consequences for overuse, but he wasn't prepared to let anyone else face the consequences of his choices and his mistakes. They were never told in detail, in fact they were hardly taught anything, but from what he knew, wiping someone's memory so many times likely wasn't healthy for them. It was selfish to keep Honda around, knowing that. Knowing everything while he knew nothing. 

"Kouji-kun. You're going to class, right?" Honda greeted him with a polite smile, as if Shinobu hadn't been making up excuses to avoid him for days. The sun was setting, and it was one of the shifts where they got off at the same time. They stepped outside, locking the door behind them. 

"No, not today." He answered honestly. 

"I see, how fortunate." Honda paused, his head tilting to the side. Shinobu watched as his hair easily fell with the motion, and how his eyes seemed to narrow with intent. "There's a well-priced restraunt that recently opened not far from here. I'm aware you don't seem to eat well, so, shall we have dinner together?" 

It was a perfect strategy, and there was no excuse Shinobu could make. 

"Oh, uhm, sure. Sounds good." 

All he could do was proceed with extra caution, and hope Honda didn't bring up the fact that he'd been avoiding him. Luckily, the topic steered to his history major. He could safely talk about this, as long as he didn't bring up the fact that he had to change his historical specialty in light of being failed for 'making up events', that Shinobu was pretty sure happened because he was there for it. Or the time he found a blurred picture of himself in a crowd inside the textbook. Other than that, a safe topic. 

Before he knew it, he was talking multiple sentences at a time. It was strange, for him to be the centre of a conversation. Attention usually made him want to tear off his flesh and crawl inside, but there was an exception to every rule. Honda held his hand up to his mouth, concealing a short burst of laughter at something odd he said. Shinobu was pretty sure he found the exception. 

The place Honda had mentioned was only one stop away, and it really hadn't taken long at all. It was fairly busy due to being new, but they still didn’t have to wait long before being seated at a window overlooking the street. The rest of the night was a blur after Honda ordered a cup of sake, and Shinobu ordered a beer. He was bordering going from tipsy to drunk when the rational part of his mind decided that was probably enough, there was no good in bothering Honda further. 

He liked that the alcohol made it easier to talk. He had less reservations about speaking his mind, and had more confidence than his sober self probably ever would. All in all, a pretty terrible idea to go drinking with the one person Shinobu had decided he would cut himself off from. They finished their food and paid separately without much ordeal, neither liked being indebted to someone, so it was logical. 

As they went to leave, there was a set of stairs by the counter going up to the rooftop. There was a few other floors of commercial space, so it was open to the public. Driven by going straight for whatever piqued his interest, Shinobu started to climb up. Honda must have figured the rooftop would be a quiet, secluded place to talk, and followed him up.

The night had grown darker while they'd been eating, and a chill swept through the street as they stepped out onto the roof. Various neon lit signs left a subdued afterglow of colour on the pavement below. There was barely anyone out, let alone anyone in a position to see them on the roof. Sober, he would have run. But selfishly, all he wanted for the moment was to stay a little longer and talk with him a little more, even when that had been the very thing he was avoiding. He complained that he didn't understand humans, but truthfully, he couldn't blame them. Shinobu barely understood himself. 

"I've been avoiding you." He admitted, walking to the railing and watching the empty street. Though he wasn't really sure why he said it. He barely comprehended that he was saying it until the words had already left his mouth. 

"I'm aware." 

"… You didn't bring it up." 

"I did not." 

"Why?" 

Shinobu's face hardly changed, but there was a noticeable pink to his cheeks that continued up to the tips of his ears. He was being a little more honest than he could probably afford, an almost whiny, childish tone to his question.

"I believe I may know why, so I suppose I understand."

"It's probably wrong." 

There was no way he knew, right? He was probably overthinking it. This time, for sure, he hadn't done anything. He had been careful, so careful tonight. His head felt light, and he was exhausted. This was a truly terrible decision. Honda walked up next to him, meeting his eyes. 

"That’s a bold assumption on your behalf, hm?" 

Shinobu didn't have a response to that. He draped himself over the railing, sighing. His face felt hot, but his bones felt cold. His jumper was fairly thin due to his plans to go straight back to his apartment after work. A shiver ran up his spine as a particularly cold wind came through.

"Cold." He mumbled, staring down. 

"You understand that you are the one who led us up here to begin with, correct?" In the moment he wasn't paying attention, Honda slipped off the navy coat he'd been wearing and put it on Shinobu's shoulders with the aim that Shinobu would put it on properly himself. 

Shinobu held onto it, leaving it where it was. 

"Kouji-kun, I apologise if this causes offense, however… You don't appear to own much clothing. Do you not have appropriate clothing for winter?" 

Shinobu shrugged his shoulders, still watching the street. 

"I'm an angel, so I don't own much of anything." 

Honda stared at him in confusion, waiting for the catch. He didn’t fully process what he'd said until a few moments later. 

"… I see." Honda responded, as Shinobu turned to look at him in horror. He never knew what to expect from humans, but he wasn't expecting an amused smile. "I thought as much. Though I must say, I did not expect to confirm it this way."

"Fuck." He eloquently returned, putting his head in his hands and groaning quietly. "How does this always happen? I wiped your memories, I swear…" He wouldn't be surprised if he'd somehow messed that up too. 

"You wiped my memories?" 

"Four times. Sorry." Shinobu was saying too much, too quickly, and it was becoming beyond salvageable. Should he wipe his memories again? When would it become one time too many? He looked at Honda to debate it, and Honda defensively took a step back. 

"Will you let me explain this time, before erasing this conversation?" There seemed to be an irritated undertone to it. He winced. 

"I probably wasn’t going to anyway… Don't like doing miracles drunk. Talk away." Shinobu went back to leaning his head on the railing, Honda's jacket still wrapped around him. He lived in a different world from those around him. He knew that. But could he be blamed for wanting, deep down, even just one person to know the truth?

"I also happen to not be a human." Honda opened with. Shinobu blinked in confusion, looking over at him with widened eyes. 

"If you're a demon, I really don't want to know." 

"Not quite, no."

Not quite an angel, not quite a demon. Fallen, then. This whole time, if he'd just let Honda speak… Somehow, it was worse to come to this realisation after mistakenly blurting it out in response to an unrelated question. He could be embarrassed about it later. He could also think about the implications of Honda being fallen later. Now, he wanted just one night to be selfish, one night where he didn't have to hide. 

He slid Honda's coat off his shoulders, and waited for a moment before his white wings sprouted from his back so fast it ripped two slits through his jacket. Shinobu angled them upwards, stretching the muscles in a cat-like motion. Other than the biting cold, it was the perfect night for a flight. He hopped up onto the railing in a crouched position, leaping off instinctively before he felt the hands grabbing his shoulder. 

Honda had tried to pull him back down, putting one foot on the railing to increase his reach. It backfired when Shinobu leaped off and Honda was left grabbing onto him for dear life, his feet still barely on the railing and his body stretched out building-height above the ground. Why wasn't he bringing out his wings?! 

"KOUJI-KUN I CAN'T FLY!" 

Shinobu froze mid-air, his wings batting behind him.

"WHY?!"

"CAN WE HAVE THIS CONVERSATION ON LAND!" 

Shinobu slowly started to move back toward the railing, resting his hands on Honda's waist to carefully right him. His grip tightened on his shoulder. It only took a split second for him to lose balance, one foot slipping over the railing. Shinobu caught him before he had time to yell, but he didn't miss the sharp inhale as he put him down on the roof. It was probably the wrong time to be thinking he'd like carrying him under different circumstances. 

"You really just act however you want to when you're drunk," Honda lightly criticised without heat, trying to re-gain his breath. 

"… Sorry. You can't… can't fly?" 

Shinobu still held Honda's jacket in his arms, but wasn't quite willing to draw attention to that fact yet. 

"Frankly, this is a conversation I'd rather have with you sober. Let me take you home." 

Shinobu was aware he was getting sleepier by the minute, and he couldn't argue with that at all. He nodded, going to follow Honda through the door to the staircase when his wings hit the top. He sheepishly tucked them away again, putting on Honda's coat to hide the holes. That would… most likely come back to bite him.

"It's truly a wonder you have come this far undetected."

"'M doing my best here." 

And he really was. 

They caught the train back to Shinobu's apartment, and he was spaced out just enough to not protest Honda walking him home. The next morning, he barely remembered it, other than snippets of Shinobu badly forcing a smile on the train, and briefly falling asleep on Honda's shoulder. Most vividly, he remembered the embarrassment that he should have felt but didn't at the time. 

He woke up among tussled grey sheets where he'd collapsed the night before, his phone on his bed next to him. His first notification was a text from Honda. Shinobu groaned into his hands. He would never recover from this.


End file.
